


a stolen skin, a borrowed lung

by witheachsunrise



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Anthropomorphic, Multi, kind of?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-25 01:01:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17715077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/witheachsunrise/pseuds/witheachsunrise
Summary: They are fluid creatures, the three of them.  They can take on any face, any life, that they choose.





	a stolen skin, a borrowed lung

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CloudAtlas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloudAtlas/gifts).



They've claimed bodies for the occasion, stolen a trio of faces that they wear as if they had always done so.

She took on a dancer's build, or maybe a fighter’s, with red hair and eyes that shine. Her skin is pale, her limbs lean and ready for motion. She isn't used to having something to manipulate like this, but she doesn't let it throw her. Instead she dances, slamming her feet down on the ground and leaping into the air, twisting and turning and looking over her shoulder at the other two, laughing as they watch her.

The others are not as good as she is, though they aren't terrible at it either. She watches them as she dances, the itch in their stolen skins. They want to move and she can see it, but they're hesitating.

She stops her dancing and moves closer, holding out a hand to each of them. "Come on," she urges, her voice gentle and accented. "Dance with me."

It's not a request, but not a command either; it's left for them to make of it what they will, even if all of them know they'll join her.

To resist the pull of Time would be impossible. 

She pulls them into a spin, grinning as she watches them learn how to move on their feet. She sees how Space takes to orbiting them, spinning around the other two and humming a melody that only the three of them know. His face glows with the joy of movement as he bends and twists around them. He throws his hands up in the air, laughing loudly and looking skyward, looking at the borrowed moon, at himself, at all of them.

The other is less exuberant in his joy, letting himself be spun but somehow nervous in his way. The Void doesn't join them as often as they want him to; he's much more quiet, choosing to exist against the world, rather than in it. 

But he's trying, shuffling his feet and doing small turns with outstretched arms. It's hard for him to remember the steps to their dances, but he tries so hard and that's what matters.

"We're going to be marvelous people," Time tells them, grinning like a half moon. "We're going to be amazing."

"You are," the Void says, his voice soft, uncertain. "I'm going to ruin this."

Space moves to wrap his arms around the other. "You're going to be fine," he says into his ear. "You'll probably outlive both of us."

Time nods, moving to press herself against the Void's chest. "Just remember, we'll always find you," she tells him, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "We always come back to each other."

"But what if we forget?" he asks. "What if we lose track of… of everything?"

Space holds him a little tighter. "Bodies don't last forever. We'll come back. You're not trapped there, none of us are. It's just for fun, remember?"

"For fun," the Void repeats. "Just for fun."

"Now come on," Time tells them both. "Let's learn who we are."

And with that they shift from the Liminal into the waking world, sliding into borrowed lives as if they've always been there.

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea if this works, or if it even jives with anyone but me. I just really was taken with Natasha as Time and Bucky as Void and Clint just felt so very much like he had to be Space once I sorted out the other two, so I just ran with it.


End file.
